“We are striking the balance between making the beers we want and having a high demand on the market.”
restaurants, bars and retail outlets. Blindman delivers to the ALGC warehouse, but their license also allows them to direct-deliver to the same group of customers. This means there is the opportunity for a significant amount of orders to come in from all directions. A good problem to have, one would assume. But Groendahl points out that it can create challenges that bigger breweries face. “We have the ability to reach a lot of people through these systems. And it’s sometimes a bit of a challenge because we don’t necessarily know all the places that our beer gets to. We have such a far reach with this system, that it may limit our ‘human touch’ at times.” “Three days a week, we have a delivery van that’s on the road. One day in Central Alberta, one day in Edmonton and one day in Calgary. So we have that ability to reach out to our core clien- tele, our keg accounts, and interact with themon a personal basis once a week. So that really helps tie things together for us.” A running theme amongst the craft movement is that brew- eries tend to help each other out rather than consider the other breweries to be competition. When Blindman swung their doors open a couple of years ago, there were only two craft breweries in Central Alberta. That number has jumped to about eight today, with plans for more in the near future. Doef observes, “It is trending for sure. The one crazy thing is that, right now, there are 67 craft breweries in Alberta, with a bunch more slated to open soon. When we opened two years ago, we were the 20th brewery to open.” That number could be upwards of 100 by next year’s end. Numbers aside, Doef assures that the camaraderie still exists. “We all think quite optimistically about that. The saying goes, ‘a rising tide lifts all boats’boats’, which is true in this case. We are more in competition with the mac- ro-breweries, in terms of market share. Generally, it has been all good between the small breweries. Sharing information, sharing supplies, if we need to borrow equipment, or if we’re short on malt or hops — we’re all pretty open about that, which is awesome.” That ‘human touch’ finds its home with their direct delivery.
Edmonton are seeing consumer uptake for craft beer at a faster pace than in Central Alberta. But he regards being located almost smack-dab in the middle between the two largest cities in Alberta as both an advantage and an opportunity. “Especially in Calgary, there is greater aware- ness and excitement over craft breweries. And if the larger cities are going to lead the way, I think we need to seize the opportunity to ride the wave. Even as more of a rural- based brewery, we are well-situated between Calgary and Edmonton. It’s an hour or so either way. So it makes it handy for distribution.” Turning to the products themselves, Blindman’s flagship beer is called the “Blindman River Session Ale.” It’s a 4.4%- alcohol lighter ale that is dry-hopped with a tropical aroma
Groendahl adds that the larger centres like Calgary and
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DECEMBER 2018 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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